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Instant Checkmate
Criminal-record and social-profile search option.
View Records Sponsored partner optionWhat should you know about this search?
Direct answer
An arrest record in an online background check should be treated as a lead to a case history, not as a conviction. Confirm the subject, identify the arresting agency and connected court, and read the current disposition before relying on the item.
Follow the arrest through the record chain
1
Arrest eventIdentify the agency, date, location, booking or incident reference, and the identifiers linking the event to the subject.2
Charging decisionDetermine whether charges were filed, changed, declined, or handled in another way after the arrest.3
Court caseIf a case exists, use the current docket to find status, filings, and the recorded disposition.4
Later updatesCheck for dismissal, acquittal, conviction, sealing, expungement, correction, or other events that change how the original arrest should be understood.Do not collapse these stages into one label
| Stage | What it establishes | What it does not establish |
|---|---|---|
| Arrest | A law-enforcement action occurred | That prosecutors filed a charge or a court found guilt |
| Charge | A formal allegation entered the process | That the allegation was proven |
| Disposition | The recorded way a case or charge ended | That every secondary database has already updated |
| Conviction | A conviction was recorded for a particular offense | That unrelated arrests or dismissed charges should be treated the same way |
Use stronger identity checks for high-impact criminal records
Name plus
Add date, location, alias, or another identifier
A name match alone can be unsafe, especially for common names.
Agency reference
Keep the incident or booking reference
It helps distinguish one event from another and supports source verification.
Court linkage
Find the connected case when one exists
The court record is where later procedural events and disposition are usually visible.
Current source
Refresh before relying
A secondary report can lag a dismissal, correction, or other update.
Employment use requires more than accurate data collection
Even a correctly matched arrest record can be misused if the reviewer treats arrest and conviction as interchangeable or ignores the relationship between the record and the job. The EEOC’s criminal-record guidance emphasizes that arrest and conviction records are different and that employment practices involving criminal history can raise discrimination issues.
When a third-party consumer report is used, the applicant also has consumer-report rights. That is why a high-quality employment workflow separates factual record verification from the later decision process. The report should state the record stage accurately and preserve the source trail needed for the applicant to understand or challenge the information.